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I’m back! I’ve had the craziest summer but I’m finally settled down and had time to write a blog post (maybe even a few this week..) I think I am going to write a blog post about what I’ve been up to this summer and just what’s new in my life.

The newest/coolest thing that happened this summer though is my new apartment! I moved to a new apartment in Manhattan, and I couldn’t be happier. I wasn’t even sure that I was going to stay in New York City, so to get to be here for another year is so awesome. I am in my dream location in NYC (Battery Park City), and I have the best views and the sweetest roommates. I truly feel so blessed to live here!

Hey guys! I finally thought of a fun topic for my blog this week…a tour of my bedroom in New York City! I’m super weird and always think it’s so fun to watch videos of people’s bedrooms/apartments and see how they decorated, stay organized, etc. I thought it would be easiest to explain my bedroom situation in a video, so click below if you want to see a mini tour of my {mini} bedroom!

I hope you guys liked the video! If you’re interested in any of the pieces you saw in the video, click the links below 🙂 And as always, leave some comments and let me know what you thought/if you have any decorating advice!

Life in New York City is so different than anywhere else I’ve lived. From growing up in Ohio to living in South Carolina for four years of school, I felt like I’d already seen a lot! But as most would guess, NYC is completely different than any other city, and rightfully so. If you’ve ever considered living here or are just curious about the differences in day to day routines, then keep reading!

1. Transportation– this one seems obvious, but it took me the most time to get adjusted to. Taking the subway and walking are what I do most since I’ve moved here, and I’ll admit I do miss my alone time in the car! But it’s so cheap to subway (2.75 per ride) and I always get my 10,000 steps a day with walking everywhere 😂 if you’re visiting NYC and are trying to figure out the subway system, my biggest suggestion is to download the Citymapper app, and to just ask people and read signs! I am one of the most directionally challenged people I know and I still somehow figured out the New York City subway system, so you can too!

2. Food– I’d never really thought about this one before, but grocery shopping can be a real pain in the ass when you don’t have a car to dump all of your shit into! I tend to go grocery shopping for smaller quantities more often, which can get annoying but I’ve gotten used to it. It’s also a great workout carrying your groceries and walking home! 😂 Another thing all New Yorkers seem to do is eat out quite often.

3. Dating– Literally every girl I’ve talked to in New York says the only way to date here is online dating. Obviously in college my friends and I dabbled in Bumble and Tinder, but New York City has its whole own array of options when it comes to dating apps. I’ve been a fan of The League and Hinge!

4. Tourists– I quickly went from being a newbie New Yorker that stopped and stared at everything, to being soooo annoyed by slow tourists that stop in the middle of the sidewalk to take pictures 😂 It doesn’t help that I live on Wall Street down in Fidi and walk out my front door to a sea of tourists that I have to navigate my way through, lol.

5. The Vibes– As fast paced as New York City is, I’ve also found that it is one of the friendliest cities I’ve ever lived in. As surprising as it is, I feel like strangers from the subway to the streets are willing to stop and chat, help with directions, and so much more. I’ve seen a family help an old lady up the stairs, and men helping women carry their strollers down into the subway. It makes my heart so full!

That’s all for now! What have your biggest adjustments been when moving to a new city? Comment below and let me know!

Hello, blogging world friends! Lately I’ve been getting a lot of questions about living in New York City, from close friends to strangers wanting to know how I managed to move here. While I do often feel like I’m living an amazing dream, moving to New York isn’t actually that difficult or scary to do! Here are my top four tips on how to move to New York City if this is your dream, or even if it’s something you’ve just considered!

Apply, apply, apply: I know this one is obvious, but applying for jobs here is the number one way to get your butt to New York. Once you land a job here, you have an automatic reason to move here! I moved here for an internship that ended up not working out for me, but it got me to this city that I’ve always wanted to live in, so it all worked out in the end! It’s also so much easier to land a job in New York once you already live here.

Don’t be afraid of failure: I think that me, along with billions of other people are nervous to take big leaps out of fear of failure. Moving to New York was scary because I wasn’t sure if I’d like living in a big city or if I could really do this. But for me, “what ifs” aren’t a good enough reason to not follow through with big dreams. I’d also like to say that moving somewhere and not loving your job, home, or situation is not a failure! It is a huge success to take these leaps, no matter the outcome.

Think short term: Remember that you are signing a lease to live here for one year. You aren’t committing the rest of your life to this place, so if you are nervous that NYC may not be the place for you but you’ve always wanted to try it, then give it a go! I always play the “what’s the worst thing that could happen” card. For me, it was coming here and absolutely hating it. This wasn’t the case, but it is nice remembering that I have the option to stay here until July and then can move anywhere else I’d like. You aren’t stuck here!

Fake it ’til you make it: This is the biggest step that I took when deciding I wanted to move to New York City. I literally did everything that I could in pretending that I was already moving to New York City. I apartment hunted online, applied for jobs, read books, read blogs, made dream boards, messaged potential roommates, talked to people who live here…even though my parents thought I was crazy, I literally just went along pretending like I was moving to New York, even though at the time I had no plans to! Even if you’re “faking it” or just going through the motions with no real end in sight, I truly believe that these things really do help you to get what you want in the end.

I hope this gives a little insight into the mentality and approach I took when deciding I wanted to move to New York City, and how to get here! This could really apply to anyone looking to move to any city, but I’ve been getting a lot of questions specific to New York so I thought I’d share 🙂 Comment with any other New York questions or New York post ideas, I’d love to share what I’ve learned so far!

I hope everyone had a great weekend! I am finally all moved into my apartment in New York City, and let me tell you, it was one of the craziest experiences EVER! Even though apartment hunting in the big apple can be a little daunting and majorly overwhelming, I am here to give you 5 tips and tricks to hopefully make your experience go a little smoother!

Give Yourself Time- Don’t expect to find a place overnight! Give yourself at least one week in the city to look for apartments. I heard that the average person tours 20 apartments in NYC before deciding on one, so don’t expect to fall in love with the very first one you set eyes on. Also, give yourself time to get between apartments! Subways don’t always show up on schedule, so be prepared to do a lot of walking and waiting in between. This leads me to my next point!

Plan Accordingly- This one may be obvious to New Yorkers, but to a small-town girl from Cincinnati, I had no idea how big the island of Manhattan actually is! So, plan which apartments you want to see according to the area you will be in that day. My roommate and I made a running google doc of all of the UES, Midtown, West Village, East Village, and Financial District places we wanted to see, and then picked which day we would be in each place (ex: Monday in UES, Tuesday morning West Village & afternoon East Village, etc.) Don’t be overly ambitious…my parents and I walked on average 11 miles a day to see these apartments, and that was with us staying in the same areas each day!

NO Brokers Allowed- There is absolutely no reason to be paying a broker fee in NYC when you can easily find a place yourself if you just put in the time and energy! Broker fees in New York are INSANE so save your money and go find a place on your own! My next piece of advice is how you can manage to do this super easily.

My Golden Piece of Advice- This is something that I wish I had known going into this experience, and it feels like a little secret that I have kept up until now! While you can search on Zillow, Apartments.com or Craigslist all you want, the real way to find a great apartment is by literally walking in and asking. You may think I’m crazy, but I swear I am living in a dream apartment with a dream budget for this reason alone! All you have to do is go to different areas of town that you may be interested in living, and walk up to the doorman or front desk and ask if they have a leasing office you can speak with. Some will, some won’t, but the fastest way to get an apartment is to find a place that has a leasing office (usually open on the weekdays only) and ask if you can go speak with them. Then just go say you are looking for an apartment and were wondering what they have available! The best places to go to are leasing offices, because they can usually show you available rooms right there on the spot. When I found my apartment we stumbled upon it, walked right into the leasing office, and toured and signed for the place all within an hour! If you want the fastest and easiest NYC apartment hunting experience ever, then follow this advice.

Make Room For Roommates- While I do love my apartment and all of the amenities it offers, I will admit that we signed for a 1 bedroom for 3 people. How did we do it, you ask? Temporary walls! Basically, we signed for a 1 bedroom that had a HUGE living room area, and we put up a T-wall in the living room which basically created 2 new bedrooms and made the whole place super affordable! And yes, we still have a small living room area with a couch, ottoman and TV, and a bar top with chairs to eat, too! I do have a teeny tiny room, but I will do another post on how to make the most out of your small room in NYC later 🙂

I hope this post helps at least one person out there to find an apartment in the city! Though there may be tears and exhaustion involved during this process, it will all be worth it in the end when you are living in this incredible city!

Change is good, and exciting change is even better! Today I got a job offer at a PR firm in NYC and I couldn’t be more exited. Moving to New York City has been a dream of mine for a long time, and to see it come to fruition doesn’t even feel real! I have to credit this job offer to a book I’ve been reading, called You Are A Badass by Jen Sincero. YOU MUST READ IT. It basically teaches you about self-love, your higher self, and how to live the life you were meant to live.

In other news, I wanted to share my NYC journey on this blog! There have been lots of ups and downs with it, but I am feeling really certain that this is what I am supposed to do right now. I currently have two potential roommates and we are all looking at 3 bedroom apartments to live in!

Does anyone out there have any advice about apartment hunting in New York City? (Is anyone out there even reading this?) We are wanting to live in lower manhattan but our budget of 4,000 a month total doesn’t really give us many options but we are trying our best to figure it out, but any advice is MUCH appreciated.

I will be moving there to apartment hunt in the last week of June! I am so excited and can’t wait to start this new part of my life. Make room NYC, I’m moving in!